BURNING AS A LAMP
THE THIRD TRUMPET
Great Star from Heaven Poisons Water Supplies
Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Revelation 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter
Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Revelation 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter
We now reach the time of the sounding of the third trumpet. The first two trumpets have devastated different areas in the world. Hail mingled with fire and blood has burnt a third of the trees and grass. A mountain burning with fire has been cast into the sea – its impact causes the death of a third of sea creatures, turns a third of the sea to blood and any ships in the area are destroyed.
The question has been asked and answered in the previous two chapters – Why is God sending these destructive judgments? God’s mercy, so freely given to all is about to come to an end! The ultimate event – Christ’s second coming is soon to take place. These trumpets are God’s warnings to the last generation that his coming is near – even at the doors (Matthew 24:33)!
God’s witnesses (Revelation 11 : 3 - 6) at this time are sounding the trumpet warnings and the mighty three angels messages. The first angels message is a key message for all the world and particularly emphasizes who the true and creator God of the universe is:
Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Thus far the earth and sea have been impacted on by the first and second trumpet. The third trumpet affects the fountains of waters and rivers – they are made bitter or poisoned by the impact of a star that appears like a burning lamp as it enters the earth’s atmosphere and slams into the earth.
Water – essential to sustain life, is so contaminated, that when drunk by the thirsty inhabitants of the region, they die. Previous trumpets have impacted on the ability to transport essentials to those in need – the earth’s seas and atmosphere have been contaminated and travel via sea and air is deemed dangerous. Water which would normally be sent as quickly as possible after an event like this cannot reach its destination in a timely manner. People drink the water because they are so desperate, but die as a result.
An interesting verse in Isaiah 33 captures the difficulties experienced as a result of the outpouring of the judgments of God:
Isaiah 33:8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth no man.
Travel becomes extremely difficult as a result of the ruin caused by this star or meteor colliding with the earth. Communication networks are brought into disarray as some satellites are destroyed because they lie in the path of the approaching star.
God’s witnesses are protected and provided for at this time:
Isaiah 33:15 He that walketh righteously: and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eye from seeing evil
Isaiah 33:16 He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure.
The precious people of God during the time of the trumpets will be protected by God. This is the time that Job writes about:
Job 5:19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
God has provided unique and direct promises for God’s people to claim at this time. He states that your waters will be sure. God does not provide contaminated water. Just like he made bitter waters sweet for Israel (Exodus 15: 24, 25) when they were wandering in the wilderness – God can also make bitter waters sweet for his end time people.
Will God’s people experience hardship and difficulties? Absolutely! But God is faithful and true to his word. Your water and bread will be sure!
The second angel’s message is also being sounded by God’s witnesses at this time:
Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Revelation chapter 18 provides much more detail about the fall of Babylon:
Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Babylon means confusion. Catholicism and Protestantism in tow will make all nations drink ‘the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Babylon is composed of three elements:
APOSTATE PROTESTANTISM: Protestantism has become apostate because she herself has imbibed the doctrines of the Papacy that totally override the word of God. The key doctrines Protestantism has accepted as ‘gospel truth’ are the belief in the Trinity and the replacement of the Bible Sabbath (Saturday 7th day) with Sunday the 1st day of the week.
PAPACY (Catholic Church): The prime influence in world affairs when it comes to religious and spiritual matters. She has lulled Protestantism into denying the word of God. God’s word is no longer viewed as the ultimate authority and guide. Church tradition is deemed of greater importance.
SPIRITUALISM (2 Corinthians 4:3) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: (2 Corinthians 4:4) In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Satan, the leader of the great rebellion that started in heaven against the true God, the Creator of the universe, desires the worship of the entire world. It is Satan the arch deceiver who is at the helm of all political and religious efforts to legalise Sunday as the official rest day for the world. Satan’s rest day, the first day of the week will be authorised and replace the seventh day Sabbath instituted by the true, Creator God at the creation of the world. The majority of the world will prefer to maintain the status quo and keep Sunday as they have always done. But in so doing they are worshipping the ‘man of sin’ – Satan in place of the true God of the universe.
The trumpets are sounding during the loud cry arousing humanity to realise that Babylon has fallen and that God in his mercy is calling: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).
The purpose of the trumpets is to plead with mankind to turn to the true God – the Creator of the universe whilst there is time. Each trumpet has been prophesied before it happens by God’s witnesses (Revelation 11:6). God’s witnesses echo the first and second angel’s messages throughout the world:
Revelation 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
God’s judgments have certainly arrived and these seven trumpets sound with mercy as they only impact on a third of God’s creation. Each of the trumpets are wake up calls for humanity. The time of the Gentiles is soon to be fulfilled:
Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth
An obvious question to ask is: ‘Why does God call the star – Wormwood? The Greek word is only used twice in the King James Version of the New Testament and that is in Revelation 8:11
And G 2532 the G3588 name G3686 of the G3588 star G7 92 is called G3004 Worm-wood:G894 and G2532 the G3588 third part G5154 of the G3588 waters G5204 became G1096 wormwood; (G 1519) G894 and G2532 many G4183 men G444 died G599 of G1537 the G3588 waters, G5204 because G3754 they were made bitter. G4087
The word Wormwood can be used figuratively or literally:
G894
α ̓́ψινθος
apsinthos
ap’-sin-thos
Of uncertain derivation; wormwood (as a type of bitterness, that is, [figuratively] calamity): – wormwood.
Total KJV occurrences: 2
The star is called wormwood and contaminates a third of the rivers and fountains of waters – they actually become wormwood or bitter as a result. The many men dying as a result of the contamination of the waters is a judgment from God.
This judgment was prophesied in the Old Testament a long time ago and goes like this:
Jeremiah 9:12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through?
Jeremiah 9:13 And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;
Jeremiah 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them;
Jeremiah 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood and give them water of gall to drink.
Jeremiah 9:16 I will scatter them also among the heathen whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
First it is interesting to note the conditions on the earth at the time of this prophecy: for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? The first trumpet certainly involved the burning up of a third of the trees and all the green grass. The earth does truly look like a wilderness and none passeth through! But what are the reasons God has sent these trumpet warnings to mankind for?
The spiritual state of the world and the church are as barren as the wilderness they dwell in. Verse 13 and 14 explain the reason why this is the case. The points made are as follows:
· They have forsaken God’s law.
· They have not obeyed God.
· They have walked after the imagination of their own hearts.
· They have walked after Baalim which their fathers taught them.
Mankind, including the church and the world are on the verge of spiritual bankruptcy. The time of the ‘loud cry’ and the three angel’s messages is their final opportunity to be snapped out of the Laodicean state they are in and wake up to their spiritual blindness and nakedness:
Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable and poor, and blind, and naked:
Revelation 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
At the time of the ‘Loud Cry’ and the warning sound of the seven trumpets the majority of the religious world reveals contempt for God by choosing to worship on Sunday, the first day of the week in direct violation of the law of God as given to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is the crisis point! Who do you obey? Do you obey God or man?
This is the issue that will rock the world. Man made theories and traditions are exalted above the law of the true, creator God. Another clue from Jeremiah is that the people who will be given wormwood and gall to drink are following after the imagination of their own hearts and after Baalim (Jeremiah 9:14).
Who is this false God that they worship?
Under Satan’s direction men have set up an image to be worshipped, even as Nebuchadnezzar set up an image on the plains of Dura and commanded all men to fall down and worship it. They have exalted the first day of the week, putting it in the place of the Sabbath of the Lord.
Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Be-cause thine heart is lifted up, and thou has said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Satan is that false god whom the majority of the religious world bows down to. It has been his sole purpose, ever since being ejected from heaven, to seduce and mislead humanity and literally become recognized as God by the world.
We are reminded of Jeremiah’s prophecy and why people are given wormwood to consume:
Jeremiah 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them;
Jeremiah 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people with wormwood and give them water of gall to drink.
The first six trumpets are warnings to the professed followers of God who are in reality, worshipping an unknown God to turn to the only true God and creator of the universe. This unknown God is the TRINITY, a god of man’s creation, a god whose three persons exist co-eternally, denying that the heavenly Father ever had a literal son. Jesus Christ is only playing the role of a son. There are several articles on the PROPHESY AGAIN.COM.AU
website which clearly outline the issues connected with worshipping the trinity and why it is abhorrent to God. Recommended studies include:.
Click on the above link (or find url’s at the end of this chapter) to head to this extra information essential to your understanding of this critical issue.
Ezekiel prophesied of a time when God’s people follow the imagination of their own hearts:
Ezekiel 8:12 Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.
Jeremiah 9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
Jeremiah and Ezekiel agree. It is the ancients of the house of Israel in Ezekiel that are in the dark spiritually, as in their innermost imagination they believe God cannot see them and has forsaken the earth. In Jeremiah 9:14 the fathers or ancients of Israel have taught Israel to follow Baalim, who is now embedded in the imagination of their hearts. Baalim is the ‘image of jealousy’ that sits in the gate in the north:
Ezekiel 8:5 Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.
Jeremiah 9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
Jeremiah 9:16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them.
Comparing Ezekiel and Jeremiah, it is Baalim or the ‘image of jealousy’ that initiates God’s judgments upon his people. It is the worship of false God’s and ultimately Satan that causes God to state: “Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
This judgment is described as a sword.
Leviticus 26:14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Leviticus 26:15 And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this unto you;…
Leviticus 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste.
Leviticus 26:46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
God declared to the children of Israel that a sword or judgment would come upon them if His statutes, commandments and covenant were broken and despised. David disobeyed God when he numbered Israel. The prophet Gad informed David that he had to make a choice of punishment for disobeying God’s commands:
1 Chronicles 21:12 Either three years’ famine; or three months to be destroyed before their foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.
David chose the ’sword of the Lord’. The third trumpet will be a sword to God’s professed people and they will be given worm-wood and the water of gall to drink. The third trumpet is a judgment or sword of God that is given with mercy for those who are still not wholly given to sin and the total disregard of the commandments of God:
Revelation 8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Just like the previous two trumpet warnings, only a third of God’s creative works are affected: one third of the rivers and fountains of waters are impacted upon. This is the time of the ’loud cry’ and the time when God’s witnesses are prophesying in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3) preaching the three angels messages and drawing the attention of the whole world to the importance of honoring their creator and being obedient to him by keeping all his commandments.
The law is being sealed in God’s disciples:
Isaiah 8:16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
Isaiah 8:17 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
God’s law written upon the hearts of his end time witnesses enables them to distinguish between light and darkness, truth and error.
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
But the devil or dragon is on the warpath. It is those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ he wants to subdue and destroy. Yet it is the law of God that will be made of none effect by spiritual Babylon at the time of the end. Satan knows that if you break ONE commandment of Godyou are guilty as if you have broken them all:
James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
Those prophesying in sackcloth are God’s true witnesses and are described thus in Revelation:
Revelation 14:12: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
The message the saints/witnesses are giving to humanity is that they need to:
Fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come
Revelation 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
The call to come out of Babylon reverberates around the world. Babylon, that ‘great city’ who has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication is destined for destruction. For too many years she has spread her false doctrine throughout the empire of the papacy, but now even the Protestant churches have totally embraced her beliefs and are prepared to promote legislation which makes void the law of the ten commandments.
Babylon’s god is the Trinity, her Sabbath is Sunday and she teaches doctrines that are “opposed to the plainest statements of Holy Writ.” God’s witnesses proclaim the call “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”
The third trumpet is a wake up call to Babylon:
Jeremiah 2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
Jeremiah 2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Why should the heavens be astonished, horribly afraid and desolate? God’s professed people worship gods that are ‘no gods’. They have forsaken the true God, the Creator God who is the ‘fountain of living waters’. Their broken cisterns can hold no water. They are devoid of the spirit of God.
The heavens have released the star, burning as a lamp which has devastated a third of the rivers and fountains of waters, but the next trumpet will smite the heavens – the sun, moon and stars. The heavens should be astonished! It is their turn next!
Jeremiah 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jeremiah 10:3 For the customs of the people are vain:…
The Word of God is very clear there are going to be “signs of heaven” and the heathen will be dismayed at them! Why? Because their customs are in vain!! If you read on in Jeremiah Chapter 10 you will find that those customs are their worship of their self-made gods. Read it for yourself!
The trinity is a god manufactured from the traditions of Rome or the papacy. The trinity has been adopted by the majority of Protestant churches. Rome now bears sway in these religions. The doctrines of the wine of the wrath of her fornication have been imbibed. The true and Creator God of the universe sends signs from heaven to try and awake those who are drunk with the Papacy’s doctrines. The heathen are dismayed! Their trinity god who they have honoured throughout their lives is very real to them. The counterfeit trinity god has been constructed to be so like the true God that they cannot even bear to dishonour him by investigating the truth of the matter. Satan’s masterpiece – the trinity has helped him become the god of this world – he gladly receives their honour and praise and ultimately deceives the whole world when he counterfeits the second coming of Christ. (See the article: http://www.prophesyagain.com.au/satan-personates-christ---when-and-how.html for more details).
The third trumpet is surely a sign from heaven. Prophesied by Jeremiah so long ago the wormwood and gall that the idolatrous were warned about finally becomes a reality as that star or meteorite burning as a lamp crashes to the earth poisoning one third of the earth’s water supplies.
These signs from heaven are also mentioned elsewhere in the Bible:
Joel 2:30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Joel’s reference to the wonders in heaven is during the time of the latter rain. This is the time of the Loud Cry (Revelation 18) and the three Angel’s messages (Revelation 14) and the prophesying in sackcloth of God’s witnesses (Revelation 11). Christ’s coming is imminent and the seven trumpet warnings including signs from heaven are designed to be his final call to humanity. He desperately desires for Laodicea to awake before it is ever too late. He longs for the Gentiles to come to the light of his truth and presence.
FOUR MORE TRUMPETS ARE YET TO SOUND!
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